Earlier, Vijay Yadav was arrested soon after he opened fire on Sanjeev Maheshwari on the court premises in Lucknow. Maheshwari died on the spot.

Sources in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the UP Police to investigate the murder said that during questioning, assailant Vijay Yadav said that he was offered money to kill Maheswari from one Aslam, who he met in Nepal recently. Yadav claimed that Aslam's brother Atif, who is lodged in a Lucknow jail, had been "harassed" by Maheswari.

"According to Vijay, Aslam told him that Sanjeev Maheshwari was harassing his brother Atif in jail and had once pulled his beard. Vijay Yadav also told police that Aslam offered to pay him ₹ 20 lakh if he eliminates Sanjeev Maheshwari," an officer involved in the probe said.

On the basis of information revealed by Yadav, the SIT is now collecting details of Atif and Aslam.

Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva, a close aide of Gangster Mukhtar Ansari, was shot at Lucknow Civil Court on June 7.

The officials later informed that Jeeva had succumbed to his injuries.

Jeeva was accused in the murder of BJP leader, Brahm Dutt Dwivedi, in 1997 and was brought to the court for a hearing in connection with the case. He was involved with several infamous gangs and carried out several criminal activities for almost three decades.

Later, he was an active member of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

It was revealed that the assailant made his way inside the court campus, taking a lawyer's get-up. The Uttar Pradesh Police had registered charges against Yadav under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 and 307. .